AB 1646: Physicians and surgeons: postgraduate training: guest rotations.

Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of the practice of medicine by physicians and surgeons.

Existing law prohibits a postgraduate training licensee, intern, resident, postdoctoral fellow, or instructor from engaging in the practice of medicine, or receiving compensation for that practice, unless they hold a valid, unrevoked, and unsuspended physicians and surgeons certificate issued by the board, except as provided. Among those exceptions, existing law authorizes a graduate of a board-approved medical school to engage in and receive compensation for the practice of medicine as a part of a postgraduate training program if, among other requirements, the graduate obtains a postgraduate training license, as provided. Existing law also authorizes a graduate who has completed the first year of postgraduate training, in an approved residency or fellowship, to engage in the practice of medicine as part of that residency or fellowship, and to receive compensation for that practice. If the resident or fellow fails to receive a license to practice medicine within 27 months from the commencement of the residency or fellowship, except as otherwise specified, or if the board denies their application for licensure, these privileges and exemptions automatically cease.

Under an existing regulation adopted by the board, all approved postgraduate training for which the applicant received credit counts toward the exemption period described above, including any training obtained within or outside of California, whether a full or partial year of training and regardless of whether the postgraduate training program was successfully completed. As an exception to that regulation, a board-approved medical school graduate who is engaged in approved postgraduate training outside of California is authorized to participate in guest rotations in an approved postgraduate training program in California, not to exceed a total of 90 days for all rotations.

Under this bill, a board-approved medical school graduate who is engaged in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited postgraduate training program outside of California, would similarly be authorized, as a participant in guest rotations in an approved postgraduate training program in California or a participating training site affiliated with an ACGME-accredited program, to engage in the practice of medicine as part of that training program, not to exceed a total of 90 days for all rotations, and to receive compensation for that practice without obtaining a postgraduate training license.

Existing law requires an applicant for a physicians and surgeons license who received credit for 12 months of approved postgraduate training in another state or in Canada and who is accepted into an approved postgraduate training program in California to obtain their physicians and surgeons license within 90 days after beginning that postgraduate training program.

This bill would extend the period for an applicant for a physicians and surgeons license who received credit of postgraduate training, as described above, to 180 days after beginning the postgraduate training program.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 2065 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 815 to be operative only if this bill and SB 815 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.